Cape Town - Langa High School is in the process of contacting all parents of pupils who were absent this week after the body of a girl wearing its uniform was found in Vlei informal settlement near Samora Machel.
The girl is the third to be found dead in less than a week.
Seventeen-year-old Jehaan Petersen’s body was discovered on an open field along Greenturf Road, Hanover Park, on Sunday, and the decapitated and mutilated body of a young child was found in Barcelona informal settlement, Gugulethu, last Friday.
Langa High School receptionist Nosana Maqoma said the school was reaching out to parents.
“We heard that one of our learners has died. Currently, we do not have the details of the incident and as the school, we have been trying to reach the families of those learners who were absent from school yesterday (Monday).
“We saw this on social media, and so far no parent or parents have reached out to the school to let us know about the incident, so that is why we are busy contacting parents of the school to confirm.
Once the school gets a confirmation, we will then inform we will then inform the public,” said Maqoma.
Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said they were investigating.
“Samora Machel police are investigating an inquest case. A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death,” said Van Wyk.
The girl is suspected to be 15 to 16 years old.
She was found by a resident on Monday afternoon, with foam around her mouth.
Samora Machel community activist Zovuyo Ndletyana has urged parents to be alert.
“This is shocking news, it was posted on social media, and people are urged to go and identify the body of this young girl.
“We have not yet got the details of what happened. It is said that the girl had something like foam on her mouth but it seems like it was not a brutal attack.
It could have been a seizure but, definitely, everyone will get the full information of exactly what happened after the police investigations,” said Ndletyana.
Provincial Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said they were also working on getting more details. So far the schools they’ve contacted have not reported any missing pupils, Hammond said.
Cape Times